Degradation
by Cortana Hansen
Summary: Leonardo notices the changes in Ezio- the younger man's expressions becoming ever colder, the lack of regard for his friendship with the artist... Leonardo feels like he's losing his best friend for good. And he doesn't know if he can save Ezio in time...- AU-ish, I guess? Takes place during Assassin's Creed II. (The wacky disappearing and reappearing cover pic is from Google.)
1. Prologue

**A review on a story about Leonardo and Ezio gave me this idea. Anything more need to be said? Also, sorry for the shortness, I promise the next few chapters will be longer. Not really sure exactly where I'm going to go with this, but hopefully wherever I'm going will be good.**

. . .

As the Venezia tour guide walked away to attend to other business, Leonardo turned to face his friend. The assassin looked back at the artist from underneath the white hood in puzzlement. Despite what the outfit represented, Leonardo's heart warmed at the sight of his best friend. The artist opened his arms out to Ezio, waiting. The latter blatantly ignored the gesture, instead saying, "I must be on my way. I will see you later."

"Oh," Leonardo replied, his smile faltering in disappointment for a split second. He quickly regained himself and continued, "Of- of course,_ il mio buon amico_. You have work to do, and so do I." Ezio merely turned around and scurried away, swiftly scrambling up the side of a building to the rooftop- right before an archer on patrol started shouting at him. The shouting was caught off abruptly. No doubt the archer found one of Ezio's throwing knives lodged in his throat. Leonardo lingered a moment longer, then went inside his new home. The artist looked around the room and let out a small sigh. It didn't truly feel like his old home in Firenze.

While the architects did pay spectacular attention to detail, there were still things that they overlooked. Small things, things that most people wouldn't notice. Back in Firenze, there was a small crack in the wall in a corner. The wooden floor was a darker shade there than it was here. The bookcase that was set against the wall was slightly off-centre.

Despite these miniscule differences, Leonardo _was_ grateful for the work they did. He was lucky to have a roof over his head in the first place, however not home it may be.

Then his thoughts turned back to his friend. It made Leonardo's heart sink in disappointment to see happiness devoid from Ezio's eyes. When he first met the man, Ezio was merely a boy. Bright, happy, and very,_ very_ popular with ladies. Leonardo thought he saw some of himself in the boy, some of that energy, that _need_ to change the world. Now he saw only coldness in the man's eyes, a coldness that came from his work as an assassin.

It was almost poetic, if in a cruel manner.

Ezio was changing the world, but in a way that tore away the wounded shreds of his soul. And it could only make Leonardo wonder- how much of Ezio's soul was left. In that one moment earlier that day, when Leonardo had turned to Ezio for a hug, when he saw the lack of emotion in the man's eyes... he knew.

The boy he met in Firenze was gone forever.

It was many hours later- when Leonardo was dressed in his night clothes, all ready for bed- when he heard a loud, firm knock on his door. Sighing tiredly, the artist made his way to the door. When he opened it, he smiled at his visitor. However, said smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Ezio! So good to see you. What brings you here so late, _amico mio?"_

Ezio lifted up the scroll in his hand and Leonardo's mood brightened considerably at the thought of a new puzzle to solve. "Oh, another! Che emozione!" The artist quickly snatched the scroll from his friend- were they still friends, even if Ezio changed so much?- and took it to the table. He shoved the many papers and unfinished paintings- _that he really needed to get done-_ off the table and opened the scroll. Leonardo glanced up at Ezio, who was still standing there. "Was there something else, Ezio?"

"No, except to tell you to expect some visitors in the morning," Ezio replied coldly. "I met some thieves earlier this evening, and they are after the same thing that I am. Their leader is a man named Antonio. I'm sure he will be here in the morning with some of his colleagues. They have much to discuss with you."

Leonardo nodded in reply. "Of course, anything for you, _mio caro_ Ezio."

Ezio didn't respond, instead turning away and walking outside, the door shutting silently behind him. Like a phantom in the night, it was like Ezio was never here. The only evidence of his brief presence was the Codex on Leonardo's desk. The artist sighed for the hundredth time that day, wondering what would become of his friendship with the assassin.

_"__So che non ti perderò, amico mio... perché sei già andato."_

. . .

**Alrighty, translation! Hopefully it's accurate, because I _did_ use an online translator for this...**

_**Amico mio- my friend**_

_**Che emozione- how exciting**_

_**il mio buon amico- my good friend**_

_**Mio caro- my dear**_

_**So che non ti perderò, amico mio... perché sei già andato- I k****now I'm not going to lose you, my friend... because are you already gone**_


	2. I: A Part of This War

**Okay, so, onto chapter two. Also, can somebody ****_please_**** tell my why in the heck the cover image is disappearing and reappearing all the darn time? It's kinda weirding me out a bit. And I'm not overly fond of being weirded out. Anyway, hope you all enjoy chapter two.**

**Anyway, enjoy! :)**

. . .

Leonardo pursed his lips as his eyes trailed over the ancient Arabic text with intense fascination. The flickering light from the candle's little flame playing across the paper in ever-changing shades of yellow, the faint smell of sewer water from the canals (one of the less appealing aspects of Venezia) coming in through the open window, and the much more appealing scents of ink and paint floating around in the workshop.

**النجاح! وجدنا****ا حتياجاتنا غير كافيه**

**وجدت طريقه في جرعات صغيره****أكبر من ذلك بكثير**

**مقذوفات صغيره أو نحو ذلك أمل****تصغير تصاميمها**

** الباليه علي صيغه المعصم المكرر للطاقة القابلة للاحتراق**...

Apparently the words were randomised- and some were purposefully smushed together to form gibberish. Leonardo was uncertain as to where to start. Yes, there were pieces of sentences that were still intact, but this particular Codex was going to take up a lot more time than the others did. And he needed sleep. Not to mention he had the inspiration for a new painting earlier that day. Although, being the procrastinator that he was, he probably would never start said painting. Leonardo closed up the scroll and decided to retire for the evening. The Codex could wait a little while longer.

The artist was soon in bed, the sheets curled around his body in their usual messy manner. In spite of how tired he was, Leonardo couldn't sleep. When he wasn't thinking about Firenze, he was thinking about Ezio. When he wasn't thinking about Ezio, he was thinking about the Codex. It was as though his brain refused to shut down for even a few minutes. Finally Leonardo just gave up, returning to the Codex translation issue.

The man wracked his brain for ideas, and while many of them were very clever, they simply didn't work and he kept ending up back at square one. _What was so dangerous that you had hide it so well, Altaïr?_ Leonardo thought. "Assassino maledetto! What were you hiding...?"

Leonardo decided to start by translating the words, or at least the majority of them, into Italian. While this simple dictation was annoying, and dare I say it boring, it did help Leonardo clear his head and see exactly what he was dealing with. _I should have done that in the first place._

The artist studied the words bit by bit, tapping his pen on the table since softly as he considered his next move. "Hmm... maybe... aha!" On a sudden wave of inspiration, he suddenly began scribbling down the words as they came to him, the pieces coming together quickly, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle falling into place.

Leonardo had just finished and was about to read over his work when there was a loud, firm knock on his door. The artist glanced over at the nearby window and saw the rays of sunshine coming through, lighting up the area in a soft yellow glow. Was it really daytime already? Leonardo went to the door, the person outside knocking again, this time much more forcefully. The artist opened the door a bit and peeked through the gap to see his visitor- a young, dark haired woman in some _very_ ragged clothing, resting on a set of crutches.

"Mi dispiace, Signorina, but I... um... I cannot... that is..." Leonardo had a hard time trying to send beggars away, and more often than not, he would give in to their pleas for money.

"Are you going to let me in or not, Signore da Vinci?" the woman demanded, her expression cross. "Antonio sent me. Said he wanted to come, but had business to attend to first. He will be here soon. I've been sent to fill you in on the details."

Leonardo opened the door wide enough for the woman to enter. "Mi dispiace, I thought you were a beggar. No offense."

The woman merely nodded, silently taking in the scene of the artist's shop. He hadn't even been living there for two days and it was already looking like a disaster. Books were strewn in every place imaginable, collected in piles on the floor and rug, scattered across the tables... There were paint splatters all over the floor, and the paintings themselves shoved carelessly in a corner beside the bookcase. In another corner sat some contraption that was so strange-looking the woman really didn't want to know what it did.

Leonardo shut the door and looked over at the woman, watching her as her eyes flicked over the room, taking in everything there was to see. After a moment, the artist cleared his throat, drawing her attention to him. "And what might your name be, Signorina...?"

"You may call me Rosa." Leonardo nodded in acknowledgement, all of a sudden feeling severely uncomfortable. Despite not having been living there for long, it felt a bit like Rosa was encroaching on his territory with her presence. Which was a ridiculous notion, seeing as he _willingly_ let her enter. Rosa herself apparently felt no such qualms about being in the workshop, as she limped over to a nearby chair, and- after shoving off a random pile of books that happened to be there- sat down.

"I assume you want to know what's going on?" Rosa asked, setting her crutches in front of where she sat. She didn't wait for a response. "Elmiro, the man Ezio was sent to kill, is hiding like a coward within the walls of his stronghold. After Ezio freed some of our brothers, he and Antonio went to scout the stronghold to see if perhaps there is a way in."

"And why are you here?" Leonardo asked, crossing his arms.

"Ezio has told Antonio about some of your work with the hidden blade. Antonio expressed interest, and was hoping you could outfit some of us with similar weapons. I've been sent in his steed to bring you to the Guild so you can build these blades for us."

Leonardo did his best to keep his composure, but the shock of the request was overwhelming. "The hidden blade I reconstructed for Ezio... was for him to defend himself. I _upgraded_ it for that same reason. I may be more than just an artist or a visionary, but part of a war I will _not _be."

"There's a problem with that statement, Signore da Vinci," Rosa told him. "You're already a part of it."

. . .

**Don't worry, Ezio is going to appear in the next chapter. :)**

**On a side note, I completely forgot whatever encryption(s) Altaïr used for the Codex, so I'm making up my own encryption. And slight spoiler alert, but this particular Codex actually appears later in the actual game. I'm including this one early for reasons I'll let the story explain _later._ And yes, this story is probably going to be more AU than originally planned.**

**Also, I suffer from chronic laziness, so I was too lazy to translate the entire Codex into Arabic, due to the fact that I couldn't find anywhere where I could just _copy and paste _it into the online translator. I was forced to type sections of it into the translator instead. Bleh, too time consuming to type the whole thing. The last thing I needed was to start procrastinating over it and then never finish the chapter (ha ha, get it? No?).**

**Lastly, being new to the Assassin's Creed fandom, I'm trying to do some research, for stuff that I've forgotten, but not too much because I don't want to have anything spoiled for me. I've just begun Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (and that really crazy scene with Minerva at the end of Assassin's Creed II is still stuck in my brain). Eh... I should really shut up now, shouldn't I?**

**Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated, flames are not.**


End file.
